CM Jagan unveils Rs 1 lakh crore grandiose plan for Vizag

 Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has unveiled a grandiose plan involving a spend of Rs1.05 lakh crore for the all-round development of Visakhapatnam to make it a world class city and the gateway to the east coast in the next five years.

The Chief Minister made the announcement in a coffee table booklet distributed to some 2000 delegates from various sectors participating in the Vision Vizag deliberations here on Tuesday.

He said a major project that would be grounded soon is the Metro Rail under PPP mode with an estimated budgetary allocation of Rs 14,000 crore.

“The expenditure would be shared equally by the Centre and the state government. I would however try to convince the central government to bear the entire cost, if possible,’’ he said.

Among the other proposals, he said Rs 530 crore would be spent on new roads, Rs 451 crore for road-widening, Rs 360 crore for bus transport sector, Rs 161 crore for foot overbridge and walkways, `127 crore for footpath construction and Rs 124 crore for 12 off street parking locations.

In addition, Rs 50 crore would be spent for smart and intelligent traffic management, Rs 45.65 crore for laying an alternative route for Simhachalam and Rs 32 crore for traffic and pedestrian management.

A sum of `960 crore would be earmarked for a six-lane beach corridor that would connect the Bhogapuram airport with the city and subsequently with the Mulapeta sea port.

“The corridor would have green lawns on either side,’’ he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said, similarly, a sum of Rs 500 crore would be spent on a four-lane road from Sheelanagar to Vizag Port.

A sum of `300 crore would be spent on international cricket stadium, `33.33 crore for modernization of burial grounds, `394.8 crore for VMRDA projects that include a beach deck, a science museum, a planetarium at Kailasgiri, a glow park at the YSR Central Park and activities like a glass sky walk zip line in Kailasagiri.

An Inorbit Mall would be coming up at Madhurawada at an estimated cost of `750 crore and a global convention centre worth `500 crore elsewhere in the city.